by K. C. Crowne
“You know the party’s inside, right, kid?”
A deep, baritone voice spoke from behind me, my eyes flashing wide as I spun around on my feet.
Hayden himself, in the flesh.
However good-looking he was from a distance, up close and personal he was like something from another world, or like a robot built in a factory with the “gorgeous” setting cranked up to eleven.
Hayden was tall, nearly six and a half feet, his bright blue, almost grey eyes the most fitting color imaginable given his last name. His skin was tanned, his lashes long and dark, and his face looked like it had been sculpted out of a block of granite. That same cocky smile he always wore was plastered on that sculpted face; the one that made him always seem like he knew something you didn’t, like he’d gotten all the angles worked out before you’d even gotten out of bed in the morning. He was dressed in an India-ink dark tux that fit his body perfectly, shoes polished to a mirror shine.
And, of course, he’d called me kid.
I hated when he called me kid.
“And you know I’m a grown woman, right?”
He chuckled as he stepped over to where I stood. Right away I could smell his scent, that musky, rugged smell that reminded me of a leather workshop, all manly and tempting.
“Grace, you’re my best friend’s little sister – you’re always going to be a kid to me.”
“Still condescending as all hell.”
“I don’t mean it like that – more of a term of endearment.”
I opened my mouth to give him a little more piece of my mind but thought better of it. No point in getting into it with him, since I’d told him time and time again to drop the kid thing over the years, to no avail.
“It’s good to see you, Grace.” He still had his accent after all these years, and there was no doubt that little touch of exoticness did him plenty of favors when it came to picking up women.
“Yeah, totally awesome.”
He laughed. “’Totally awesome?’ It’s not enough that you’ve all but dropped your accent, but now you’re really talking like an American. They’re all about the superlatives, haven’t you noticed? Everything’s awesome or amazing or the best ever.”
I laughed at his observation. He wasn’t wrong.
“Yanks are always keyed up about one thing or another,” I agreed.
He turned his eyes from the vista before us and put them on me, as if I were ten times more interesting than any sweeping landscape.
“Been too long, Grace. It’d be nice if we saw each other when it wasn’t just big to-dos like this.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Knowing Hayden, whenever he said a nice word there were usually five smart-ass ones following right behind.
“Well, that’s what weddings are all about, yeah?”
“It’s true. You see people you haven’t bumped into in months, or years, tell them that you ought to catch up over drinks or coffee, and then you never do.”
“That’s usually how it goes.”
We turned our attention back to the valley. Hayden chuckled, as if he were in on some joke that I had no idea about.
“Alright, what is it?” I asked.
“Nothing. Just thinking about how you looked like you were about to have a stroke when you turned around and saw that it was me.”
“Hey!” I said, putting my hand on his arm and giving him a shove.
And, of course, I couldn’t help but notice how solid and thick his bicep was when I did it.
“Well, you totally snuck up on me!” I said. “I was thinking things over and you start talking with that way-too-loud voice of yours.”
“Hey, couldn’t help it,” he said with a grin, not missing a beat. “You looked so damn cute standing there staring at the scenery. I had to come over and say something.”
“You didn’t have to do anything. And what’re you doing bothering me? Don’t you have some girl who doesn’t know your reputation to hit on?”
“Oh, Julia? We were just chatting. Why? Are you jealous?”
“Not jealous at all. Just want to make sure you’re not thinking of something other than your duties as best man.”
“Duties? It’s giving a speech and walking down the aisle with one of the bridesmaids. By the way, did you happen to know which one it was? Feel like I should know…”
I let out an annoyed grunt before giving him another shove.
“Cute. But seriously, Doc, you’d better get a lid on this immature BS before we walk down the aisle. Last thing I want is for you to embarrass me in front of all our friends and family.”
“Oh, perish the thought, kid! Last thing I’d ever do would be to make a scene at an occasion like this.” He gave me an up-and-down with his eyes. “That doesn’t exactly look like proper bridesmaid attire.”
At that moment, I was wearing a white blouse and a pair of leggings, along with some casual flats.
“Still have to get dressed,” I said. “There’s a little more that goes into getting ready for women than just throwing on a tux.”
“Sure, sure,” he said. “Can’t wait to see what you look like in your dress.”
He glanced back to the valley one last time before turning on his fancy shoes and preparing to leave.
“Anyway,” he said. “I should get back to it. Great to see you again, kid.”
“You call me kid again and I just might stick those cap-toe brogues where the sun doesn’t shine.”
He laughed. “Now you’re really sounding like a yank. See you in there.”
“Not if I see you first!”
I wasn’t sure why I said that, almost as if I needed to beat him at something. Without waiting for his response, I zipped past him and made my way back to the ballroom.
I was steamed. Hayden had been the same man he’d always been – a cocky smart-ass with self-confidence to the max. I should’ve hated the prick.
But I didn’t. In fact, every time I saw him, I had the same thought, a thought that shocked me to the core whenever it popped into my head.
All I could think about was how I, ever since I was a teenager, had wanted him to be the one to take my virginity. A decade and a half later, part of me still wanted him to be the first man to show me what that was like.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Chapter 2
HAYDEN
As Grace walked away, my eyes were locked onto her ass. I couldn’t stop staring. The way she filled out those leggings made me want to do an Italian chef’s kiss right then and there.
When she disappeared around the corner, however, I came to my senses – just like I always did when I saw her. Sure, she seemed to get sexier and sexier each time we saw each other in the flesh. And it was always the same damn thing. I’d bust her chops, she’d throw it right back at me, and we’d part ways, the sexual tension still crackling in the air.
Then, when she’d leave, I’d have to remind myself that she was my best friend’s little sister. And that meant she was as off-limits as they come. Of course, it had to work out that the one woman in my life who was off-limits happened to be stunning, brilliant, and witty.
My eyes still lingered on the corner Grace had disappeared around. I sighed, then leaned back against the railing that overlooked the valley. I brought my drink to my lips and watched the sun dip lower and lower, the sky turning a flaming orange with brilliant pinks and blues all around it. The sun sinking lower meant that the ceremony wasn’t too far off – another hour or so.
And that meant I was needed. The rest of the guys, groom included, were getting ready.
But before I could take off back to the groom’s suite, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I slipped it out and checked the screen. It was a text from “J.” I had no idea who the hell that was, and I made a mental note to come up with a better system for my contacts. The single letter meant it was a woman who I wasn’t planning on seeing for long, but I was finding out that “J” was a pretty damn common lette
r for women’s names.
Hey. Where’d you run off to in such a hurry?
Oh, that “J” – Julia, the girl I was passing the time with.
Or was it, Julie?
Fuck. I was a cardiologist, and a damn good one. That meant I had an encyclopedic knowledge of every last square centimeter of the human heart. But when it came to keeping names straight, that was a whole other story.
There’d been a little detail I’d kept hidden when discussing the matter of Julie/Julia with Grace. See, she’d accused me of planning on sleeping with her. What I hadn’t told her, however, is that, as the Yanks like to say, that horse had already escaped the barn, that bell had already been rung.
Now that we’d already slept together, the tricky part was next. See, any guy could sleep with women. However, it took a skilled playboy to sleep with them and to end the arrangement without the woman wanting to pour gasoline all over your car and toss a match over her shoulder as she walked away, Waiting to Exhale style.
Just went to catch up with a friend. Gonna be busy with the best man stuff for the rest of the evening. Might find you later?
Looking forward to it. Chur, right?
I had to have a chuckle at that one. I loved it when American women used Kiwi slang. “Chur” was our way of saying “cheers.”
Chur. See you around. I tagged a sunglasses emoji onto the end to let her know it was all easy, breezy – only fun, nothing serious.
That was good; it meant she wasn’t the clingy type. This stage of the game was all about making sure she didn’t think anything was more serious than it actually was. If I played my cards right, we’d move on like two ships passing in the night – no drama, no tears. All I would have to do was give her the slip during the party, and I’d be home free.
I tucked my phone back into my pocket and the moment I did, my mind went right back to little Grace Anderson. I couldn’t stop thinking about how damn good she looked. She’d been dressed simply in leggings and a blouse with barely any makeup on, but that didn’t matter. Grace was a beauty, through and through.
And she was also off-limits. Minor detail.
I went back into the lobby of the country club, the cocktail hour well underway. I said my “hellos” to the many familiar faces I passed and was soon trotting up the steps to the second floor where the rest of the groomsmen were gathered. I was eager to get there. Ryan’s dad had bought a bottle of some fancy-as-hell scotch for the pre-wedding toast, and I wasn’t about to miss it.
I approached the door to the dressing room at the end of the hall, giving it a quick knock.
“You can come in,” spoke a gruff voice from the other side. “But only if you’ve got a cock and two balls hanging between your legs.”
Not a doubt in my mind who that was.
I opened the door and grinned as I saw that all the guys were there. Ryan, his dad, and a few of the other groomsmen – most of them other doctors from either Ryan’s place of work or the clinic where he volunteered. And Logan, my fraternal twin brother, was there too. The guys were formed up in a circle, each one of them with a drink in his hand.
Logan grinned as he saw me. “There’s the prick who’s been keeping us from our drink!”
“Easy, bro,” I said with a smirk as I joined the circle, giving my brother a pat on the shoulder as I found my place. “Just had to catch a little bit of fresh air before I joined this crew of rowdy assholes.”
That got some laughs out of the guys.
“Here,” Ryan said, pouring me a glass of scotch and handing it over. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
“You’ll enjoy this,” Alan, Ryan’s father said in his usual, thoughtful way of speaking. “I had this scotch specially ordered in from Japan. Now, you might think that if it’s not a Scottish scotch, it’s not worth your time. That’s where the name Scotch comes from, after all, but if you give it –”
“Hey, Dad,” Ryan interrupted with a grin. “How about we save the Wikipedia entry for after we’ve thrown this back?”
Everyone laughed, including his dad.
“Alright, alright,” he said. “Then let me at least lead the toast.”
He raised his glass, all the guys going silent as he collected his thoughts.
“It’s been a strange journey getting to here,” he said, the New Zealand accent thick on his words. “Why, it wasn’t too long ago that I was sitting in my kitchen listening to my boy explain how he was going to be a surrogate dad, ready to raise a child on his own.”
“God, can you even imagine that?” I asked. “All Ryan, all the time. Kid would develop a drinking problem in order to cope before he was potty trained.”
The guys laughed, Ryan reaching over and giving me a playful shove. Alan went on, silence returning.
“I knew he’d be a great father. But a man needs a woman – no matter the man. Knowing he was about to embark on the most important journey of his life without someone by his side, it was hard to hear.”
Alan cleared his throat, and I could tell he was getting a bit choked up.
“But it didn’t turn out that way. Fate brought an amazing woman into his life, one who I couldn’t be more thrilled that he’s tying the knot with. Ry, you’re going to be a great husband, a hell of a father, and whatever other damn thing you put your mind to.”
He raised his glass, the rest of the boys doing the same.
“Chur!” Alan said.
We all repeated the word in unison, reaching in to tap our glasses together before throwing back our booze. The scotch was amazing, burning just right on the way down. Back claps went all around, and when the cheers were done, the rest of the guys got to finishing up readying for the ceremony.
But as the boys broke, I caught Ryan’s eye.
“Hey,” I said. “Mind if we chat for a sec?”
“Sure. Something wrong?”
“Nope. Just…come on.”
I put my hand on his shoulder and steered him toward the door leading out onto the balcony, snatching the booze with a swift, smooth motion on the way out. I opened the door, then grabbed a pair of glasses as we stepped over the threshold.
“Wow,” Ryan said as I shut the door. “Isn’t that something?”
He didn’t need to tell me what he was referring to. The sunset was bloody incredible. The sky behind the mountains looked to be on fire, a deep red surrounding the sun.
“Sometimes I wonder why the hell I came to the states,” I said. “But when you see a sunset like that…”
“I thought New Zealand was gorgeous. But I must admit, there are times when I wonder if the yanks have us beat.”
There really wasn’t a damn thing else either of us could say about the gorgeous sight before us.
After a few moments of gawking, Ryan turned back to me.
“Anyway, what’s up? You’d better not be dropping some bad news on me a half an hour before I walk down the aisle.” He finished this with a grin, one that let me know he was only messing around. “Or is it one final Hayden Frost smart-ass comment before you see me off?”
“Nah, not that.”
Now Ryan was curious. “Then what is it?”
“Bud, the sappy shit’s not easy for me to say. But I’d be kicking my own arse for the rest of the ceremony if I didn’t take you aside to tell you that, fucking hell, I’m glad to see you off like this. It’s been a hell of a strange trip getting you here, me and you talking like this a short time before you’re set to get wed to the mother of your children. But…I’m glad to be seeing it.”
“Is this…sincerity that I’m hearing?” he asked with a grin.
“Don’t get used to it,” I said, giving him a jab. “But I just wanted to tell you that I love you, bud.”
“Feeling’s mutual, you sappy little shite.”
I laughed and he did too.
“But” he said. “I have to wonder…when’s this going to happen for you?”
I was confused. “What, like getting married?”
He
laughed. “You say that like it’s the most horrid fucking thing you can think of.”
“No, that’s not how I feel. More that…it’s just not for me.”
“Spending the rest of your life with the woman you love isn’t for you?”
“You know what I mean.”
“I don’t. Tell me.”
“It’s more like…” I took a moment to figure out how I wanted to say what was on my mind. “It’s more like that for some guys, marriage is just in the cards. Guys like you. After all, you’ve been wanting a family since we were kids.”
“Sure.”
“But guys like me…we’re built different, as they say. I’ve never felt that pull to settle down with one girl. There are too damn many beautiful women out there for me to settle on just one, yeah? So, for me, it’s about accepting that part of me. Guys like you have amazing wives and cool-as-hell kids, and guys like me…”
“Chase skirts until you’ve got no hair on the top head and gray hair on the other one?”
I grinned. “Cute. But more like, guys like me are meant to work and have fun and maybe, if we’re lucky, do a little bit of good in the world before we kick off.”
He regarded me for a long moment.
“I know what that look means, Ry.”
“What look?”
“That one, where you tilt your head back and look down at me like you’re trying to read something written on the end of your nose.”
He chuckled and shook his head.
“It means,” I went on. “That you think I’m talking some serious bullshit.”
“It’s not that. It’s more…I’m very curious what life is going to hold for one Doctor Hayden Frost.”
“You and me both, bud.”
“Let’s drink to that.”
I poured us both a bit of scotch and we raised our glasses to the sunset.
“What’s the hold up, gentlemen?”
The heavily made-up face of the wedding planner poked in through the cracked open door. I didn’t know her name, but she appeared to be a few years older than me. She was as hard as they came – at least, as far as wedding planners went.